Toivo Ya Toivo statue to be unveiled at Ondangwa
The late liberation struggle hero Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo’s statue will be unveiled at Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo Airport at Ondangwa on Friday morning by Vice President, Dr. Nangolo Mbumba.
The statue unveiling follows the renaming of Ondangwa Airport in his honor in August 2019.
The event will be attended by around 150 invitees which will include Ya Toivo’s widow Vicki Ya Toivo and family, members of the Namibia Former Robben Island Prisoners Trust, together with other leaders.
Members of the public are urged to follow the ceremony on NBC TV and Facebook page from 09h00 in the morning, to avoid overcrowding at the airport, amid the heatwave that the Namibia Meteorological Services warns will persist over the few days in northern Namibia.
The airport boasts a new terminal building inaugurated in 2015.
Among many other historic achievements, Ya Toivo was a founding member of the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) and its predecessor, the Ovamboland People’s Organisation (OPO). Following his release from Robben Island in 1984, Ya Toivo committed himself to build a democratic Namibia, serving as secretary general of SWAPO and in various ministerial portfolios in government. Ya Toivo retired from politics in 2006 and died in 2017.
